Background
Background Here you can find the history of the Blackout setting, as development progresses, more information will be added including information on each significant system within the Human Sphere of influence. New Dawn 'Billions died. Dozens of worlds suddenly went dark. Every planet on every system was suddenly cut off from the rest of the human sphere. The populations of hive worlds and manufacturing planets starved within a few weeks. Entire fleets were stranded in the middle of bombing raids and some planets were plunged back into the middle ages. While some worlds fared better than others, for all of humanity, the stars were silent from that day forth.' It took almost two centuries for some planets to rediscover the old secrets of Faster than Light travel, salvaging scraps of knowledge from ancient databases and museums and relearning technologies that had never been seen outside of history books. Countless ships were lost in the early days, fired into the black by warp drives never to be seen again, some of these ghost ships are still encountered by traders and pioneers as they try to rediscover the fate of worlds still dark. Their crews fried alive because of improper containment, splattered against the walls of the ship because of faulty dampeners, frozen solid as the windows of their ships burst during warp travel, etc. Among travelers, raiding these ghost ships is considered taboo.' Slowly, human worlds began to regain contact with one another, sharing the knowledge of their old faster than light drivers, establishing trade networks and welcoming their old brethren into their new, rag-tag Human Sphere. Hundreds of years of isolation, however, has driven apart what used to be a somewhat homogeneous culture. Systems have grown to become different cultural entities and even now, tensions between different systems are on the rise, those that re-discovered the secrets of interstellar flight first or managed to weather the blackout better attempting to establish their dominion over the rest.' The Spheres ' Slowly, humanity or what is left of it has begun reconstructing their civilization from the ashes of the Blackout. A couple dozen systems that managed to survive the last century have now began to produce starships anew and are attempting to reestablish commerce and relations with the other systems. However, three of the surviving systems have firmly established themselves as the most powerful and influential ones. The Radinov Network' The Radinov Network is a union of planets in the system of the same name, discovered by Eastern European settlers before the Directorate was established, the system was home to a vast and powerful criminal network at the time of the war. Practiced in extortion, assassination and information gathering, the network had an easy time wrestling control of the Industrial world Radinov Prime after the Blackout. In time, its influence spread to the other habitable planet on the system and its moon. Since the rediscovery of FTL drives, the Radinov Network has all but annexed three smaller worlds on which survivors were found in different systems. They are known for their covert operations, espionage and subversion capabilities. Though they are not able to go toe to toe with the other powerful systems, the Network has eyes and ears everywhere and they use their considerable control of the criminal underground to destabilize opposing powers at every turn. The Ascendancy''' The Ascendant, on the other hand, are an elite military hegemony established in the Hades system by the remnants of a directorial Domination fleet. Trapped while bombarding the prime world of the system, the agro-world Prasinos, the fleet soon found themselves low on supplies while the world beneath descended into chaos and darkness. Turning their weapons on the planet, they held a major city hostage in exchange of supplies. Over the last hundred years, the Ascendant, as they have taken to calling themselves, have ruled Prasinos from orbit, setting up a pseudo martial cult in which local governors pay tribute to them out of fear and awe. In the meantime, the civilian masses’ agricultural and industrial production keep their military might fed and maintained, all for the promise of being invited to join them in orbit if one of them proves remarkable enough. The Ascendant are the best armed of all systems, their forces the most elite, however their numbers are small compared to the Network or the Planetary Federation. The Planetary Federation' Finally, the Federation are what remains of the Black Sun Energy Consortium, one of the two forces which prompted the Blackout War (though this is something they try to keep under wraps). The federation has presented itself to new worlds as a chance to usher in a new golden age, with them as the heralds of progress and order. However, they seem quick enough to impose that order on others if denied. More technologically advanced than the Network and the Ascendant (except when it comes to military technology), equipped with a formidable propaganda machine, they have gained sympathizers in many worlds. Nevertheless, they are quick and brutal when it comes down to stamping out dissent or disorder of any kind. It has often been said they consider the cultural differences that arose between systems during the Blackout an affront of their idea of progress.' The Players ''' Though the Federation, Ascendants and Radinov remain the three biggest influences in the verse at this point, there are plenty of smaller players scattered around the new human dominion, trying to carve themselves a piece. Black Sun Corporation''' The Black Sun Corporation is the industrial arm of the Planetary Federation. Located on the Federation capitol, Nova Luna, they dabble in everything from energy to entertainment and manufactured goods, but they seem to specialize in medical and biomechanical technology. Black Sun is known for their squeaky clean high tech outward appearance and absolute ruthlessness when it comes to protecting their business interests. Brightlance Company' Brightlance is a freelance security company out of the Ascendancy, it is the favorite way for those aspiring to become ascendant as well as young novice warriors of the ascendancy to prove their worth. They should not be underestimated, however… Brightlance teams, though novices within the Ascendancy, would be elite operatives in any other armed forces, they do both security and mercenary work, though they never take jobs that might put them in a collision force with their parent faction. They also sell weapons to third parties, although the Ascendancy only willingly sells weapons and ships once they consider them obsolete, Brightlance gear is still considered top notch among the other factions. Aeon Entertainment Group' Aeon is an entertainment group operating out of Radinov space, though most of their operations ironically take place within the federation. They deal in all things pleasure and entertainment, providing thrilling holos and high class escorts. Many believe the company has a darker side, however, engaging in human trafficking, prostitution and drug trade in many of the worlds where they have operations. Horizon Mercenary Company' Another such mercenary company, operating mostly out of Radinov Space, is Horizon, composed mostly of criminals or former criminals, they are cheap and plentiful rent-a-cops who double as a blunt instrument for the less scrupulous. They are known for their revelry and tendency to cause maximum collateral damage, but as still a popular choice. On the other hand, Horizon Datacrafters are considered elite, top of the line for any job. They also traffic in weapons and and illegal Data and Mechatech. Radinov Astroworks' Radinov Astroworks is the largest company remaining in the HumanSphere, though not as powerful or influential as the Black Sun, their operations are decentralized in a way that has allowed them to spread like weeds through several systems. They specialize in Datacraft accessories, weaponry and ship production. Freeworld ''' Freeworld is an organization dedicated to shipping and transporting goods, they also serve as the selling outlet for most unaligned colonial worlds. Being a loose franchise based organization, the philosophy and product line of each Freeworld enclave varies wildly. They are the foremost retainers of freelance captains for shipping purposes. ' '''Spacer Authority' The Spacer Authority has its home on the massive space platform Phoenix-01 on orbit around the dead world of Daemon, it is the largest Spacer Community in existence. They are known for their ship production capabilities and are considered top of the line in all things Mechatech. ''' '''Heaven Collective' On the opposing end of the spectrum, among less than legal organizations one can find Heaven, a secret Datacrafter society that considers Datacraft magical, as if it was a mystical power data crafters have learned to wield. Considering how little is known by the usual layman about the depths of Datacraft, many people seem to believe the same as Heaven does through the verse. It is unknown how many cells Heaven has hidden away, but every major world has heard of them. ' The Brokerage' The Brokerage, information gurus at the very top, are loosely aligned free agents who travel through worlds selling and buying information. They are amoral at best, and will use any means, however violent, to ensure the liberation of info they consider valuable. ' Danter Research Group' Finally you have the Dante Research Group, formerly a Federation research foundation, they are known for performing less than ethical experiments in their search for progress. Amoral individuals can also find good pay and work within the DRG. Though the Federation has officially cut ties with them, it is theorized they still enjoy a decent amount of protection from Federal forces. Stellar Atlas '' The systems’ directorate encompassed countless systems connected by hundreds of massive hyperspace gates which made traveling from one end of the galaxy to the other instantly. Today, while there are still dozens of systems that make up the spheres of influence of the new powers emerging of the galaxy, and hundreds more that make up the fledgling galactic community, only a handful of these systems are universally known. It is also no surprise that these ‘core’ systems are located where the three major powers meet, as one of the most active sectors in the black. Almost all ships will have navigational data on these core systems, as opposed to most other worlds, where only a handful of ships or groups might have the correct information to ever reach. In the following pages one can find information on these universally known ‘core’ systems, but keep in mind each GM will be able to make their own systems as needed, since there is a nearly endless variety and quantity of worlds out there, from those aligned with one of the three great powers, a lesser power, or completely isolated from the rest. There are some important terms in regards to Systems and Worlds that is good to familiarize oneself with; Hyperspace Chart The information and calculations required to properly use a hyperspace lane are staggering, so much so that ships need to be equipped with a small, specialized computer containing all the information for a specific jump. Many of these computers are loaded with information inherited from before the Blackout drawn from the remains of dormant Gates, and are extremely valuable and difficult to replicate. These computers are known as Hyperspace Charts and most ships will have them for the core systems. Traveling to any system outside of those core systems will require the ship in question to have a Hyperspace chart for the specific jump they are attempting in order to do it safely. While a blind jump to another system is possible if one finds the entrance to a hyperspace lane, there are almost always unforeseen consequences and countless ships have been lost attempting them. Hub Worlds Hub world is the designation for a planet that has, in some way or another, rejoined the stellar community. Be it through their own ingenuity or by joining one of the major or minor powers, hub worlds will not only trade with interstellar travelers but are able to routinely produce or man their own ships and actively participate in interstellar politics and commerce, either by themselves or through a more powerful patron. Most Hub worlds are former Rimworlds and the transition from one to the other can take anywhere from months to decades. Rimworlds Most of the worlds still inhabited out there in the black are Rimworlds. Though tens of thousands of worlds completely died off after the Blackout, a few hundred of them managed to avoid complete collapse and re-establish some semblance of order. The distinguishing feature of rimworlds are the awareness of a current or former interstellar community and pre-blackout era technology, which they no longer possess. Rimworlds have widely varied levels of technology, even within a single planet. Some Rimworlds might be close to 21st century pre-FTL technology, complete with orbital defenses and even extraplanetary colonies within their own system. On the other hand, some might only have medieval levels of technology and could even have important populations within them that have gone feral, forgetting their spacefaring past completely. Feral Worlds Feral worlds are usually either recovering Dead worlds or Rimworlds that fell into further chaos after the Blackout. While they may have had sporadic encounters with spacefarers, Feral Worlders have by and large forgotten about humanity’s highly technological past and are almost exclusively pre-industrial. Dead Worlds Dead Worlds are both solemn tombs and ominous reminders of the horrors of the decades long war that preceded the Blackout and the event itself. Thousands of these planets dot the stars, where most of human life was wiped either during the war or from the terrible sequels of the Blackout event. There is a considerable range of Dead Worlds; some were partially terraformed worlds where life sustaining conditions just regressed once the terraforming process stopped, slowly choking the life out of whatever survivors were left on the planet. Some were the opposite, where wildlife covered and consumed all evidence of human civilization… some were dead years before the blackout, bombed into glassy, radioactive wastes and empty husks of cities by the war… some still descended into bloody civil wars over the remaining resources after the blackout and some still were simply abandoned, be it to escape the war or as a last, desperate attempt to contact other humans after the blackout. Exploring a Dead World is a dangerous affair where one could encounter anything from environmental hazards, ancient and dormant security systems, dangerous wildlife and even small bands of feral survivors. In fact, many spacers and ship captains consider them cursed and will not get anywhere near a Dead World. ''The stellar Atlas proper is currently in development. Back to the Home Page